NYC test scores | De Blasio travel | Derivatives tension

The number of New York City students in grades three through eight passing tougher statewide reading and math exams increased slightly from 2013 to 2014. Mayor Bill de Blasio regularly bills the city for nongovernmental travel. Tensions are growing between financial regulators and large Wall Street firms over a change to the contracts underpinning the $700 trillion global...

The number of New York City students in grades three through eight passing statewide reading exams increased to 29.4% in 2014 from 27.4% a year ago. Those scoring "proficient" on statewide math exams rose from 30.1% to 34.5%. The increases came amid the tougher Common Core standards, now in their second year. [The Wall Street Journal]

The city has regularly paid for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s personal transportation, including a chauffeured Mercedes-Benz that drove him and his family around Italy during a recent vacation. Mr. de Blasio’s aides said that he would not reimburse taxpayers for costs, such as fuel, for nongovernmental car trips. [The Wall Street Journal]

Tensions are building between financial regulators and large Wall Street firms over a change to the contracts that ballast the $700 trillion global derivatives market. Regulators are pushing for the modification to avoid the kind of systemwide chaos unleashed by Lehman Brothers’ collapse, while firms worry it could weaken their legal rights and make derivatives riskier. [DealBook]

Thousands of people gathered in Times Square and Union Square on Thursday to peacefully protest the police killing of an unarmed black Missouri teenager named Michael Brown, joining other demonstrations nationwide. Some protesters also called attention to Eric Garner, who died during an arrest in Staten Island in July. [Crain’s New York Business]

After six rounds of voting by team owners, Rob Manfred was confirmed Thursday as the 10th commissioner of Major League Baseball. Mr. Manfred, a longtime executive in MLB’s Manhattan headquarters, will succeed Bud Selig, who promoted him to chief operating officer last September. [The New York Times]

Steve Madden Ltd., the Long Island City, Queens-based retailer, has bought footwear company Dolce Vita for $60.3 million. The all-cash deal is subject to terms including a working-capital adjustment. Dolce Vita founders Van Lamprou and Nick Lucio will continue to run the business as Steve Madden employees. [Women's Wear Daily]

Even though it has had to start setting premium prices for its products based on actuarial projections, Fidelis Care has captured 17% of the Obamacare enrollment on the New York State of Health exchange. That is the second-highest share in the state. [Crain’s Health Pulse]

NBC News named Chuck Todd, the network division’s political director, as the new host of Meet the Press. David Gregory, the outgoing host, announced his departure in a pair of tweets on Thursday. Ratings have dropped 43% since Mr. Gregory took over in 2008, after the sudden death of Tim Russert. [Daily News]

Plus: Alex MacCallum, the New York Times’ product management director, will lead the newspaper’s new audience-engagement efforts as an assistant managing editor. [Capital New York]

Quirky Inc., a Manhattan-based consumer-product development startup, is vying to buy General Electric’s home-appliance business. Quirky, which is competing with Stockholm's Electrolux AB, has teamed with private-equity giant the Blackstone Group in its bid for the GE unit, which could sell for at least $2 billion. [Crain’s New York Business]

New York City’s two biggest tortoises are now on display at the Bronx Zoo. Rocket and Abdul, a pair of Aldabra tortoises weighing 600 and 400 pounds, respectively, are part of a new permanent exhibit. Take your time seeing them, however: Though they are already between 100 and 150 years old, they could live another five to 10 decades. [DNAinfo]